A team of Delhi Police Crime Branch on Friday visited the office of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) to question Srinivas BV, the national president of the IYC, who has been at the forefront of Covid relief efforts. The questioning was in connection with alleged “illegal distribution of Covid medicines, etc”, police said. Police had earlier approached AAP MLA Dilip Pandey in connection with the same issue. Police say they are acting on the court’s directions. Delhi Police spokesperson Chinmoy Biswal had earlier said, “On a writ filed by Dr Deepak Singh about politicians involved in the illegal distribution of Covid medicines, etc, the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi has directed Delhi Police to conduct an enquiry. In compliance with directions of Hon’ble High Court, an enquiry is being conducted from several concerned persons." Following the court order, a team of Crime Branch was asked by the Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava to conduct an enquiry. Names given by the petitioner Singh, chairman of the non-profit Hrudaya Foundation, in his complaint to police include Pandey, Srinivas as well as BJP MPs Gautam Gambhir and Sujay Vikhe, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Congress MLA Mukesh Sharma. In his petition before the High Court, he had sought a CBI probe into an alleged “medical mafia-politicians nexus” and illegal distribution of Covid medicines by politicians. However, the court on May 4 declined the prayer and asked Singh to approach the Delhi Police Commissioner first. The court asked the state to file a status report within a week and listed the case for hearing on May 17. “In case the alleged incidents are found to have taken place in Delhi, Delhi Police should take appropriate steps by registration of FIR,” said the division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rekha Palli in an order. Hearing a separate application against AAP MLA Imran Hussain alleging “arbitrary distribution” and “hoarding” of oxygen cylinders, the court had clarified that there is no prohibition on distribution of cylinders but it will not be permitted if medical oxygen is being procured from re-fillers otherwise allotted to hospitals, nursing homes and individuals by the Delhi government. “If there is no such prohibition and if from some other source they (political leaders) are getting it and distributing it… then good they are doing service for a change. All the time they are not serving the people; if today they are serving we should be happy about it,” observed the court.
